1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fishing lures and more particularly, to specially designed fish hooks, each having a low profile, double-tapered weight on the hook shank for use with flexible plastic fishing lures. These lures are impaled on an offset shank and reverse shank bend of the fish hooks, such that the tip and barb of the fish hooks may be embedded in or positioned against the plastic fishing lures to render the lures weedless for retrieval in a waterbody using a rod and reel. According to one embodiment, a low profile, double-tapered weight is applied to a straight shank of a fish hook to facilitate passage of the weight through the impaled lure with minimum lure damage during rigging and sinking of the hook and impaled lure to a desired depth determined by the lure design and speed of retrieval of the lure. According to another embodiment, a low profile, double-tapered weight is applied to a curved shank of a fish hook, and the hook is adapted for partial embedment in a flexible plastic fishing lure to achieve the same result.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the most effective lures in taking game fish, including the fresh water variety such as large mouth and small mouth bass, crappie and the like, as well as saltwater varieties, including red fish, speckled trout and similar fish, is the flexible plastic lure which can be molded in substantially any desired size, shape, color and consistency. A popular technique for retrieving plastic fishing lures at a desired depth in a waterbody is to embed a hook in the soft plastic of the fishing lure and place a weight or sinker on the line or on the hook shank, typically at the very top or bottom thereof, to cause the flexible plastic fishing lure to sink to a desired depth before and during retrieval. Retrieval of flexible plastic fishing lures rigged in this manner is typically effected by initially lifting, and subsequently lowering the tip of the fishing rod and intermittently operating the reel to facilitate raising and falling of the lure, causing the flexible plastic fishing lure to assume a swimming appearance. Accordingly, the action of the weight on the hook allows the lure to be fished directly on the bottom of the waterbody, where the lure is typically bounced off the bottom in a swimming or crawling simulation, or fished at the surface or an intermediate depth, depending upon the lure design and speed of retrieval. Problems with conventional sinkers and weights attached to the fishing line and the shanks of the hooks in prior art hooks include snagging or catching of the sinker on underwater obstacles such as moss, rocks, tree limbs, stumps, grass, weeds and the like when a lure is fished on the bottom and improper balancing of the impaled lure in the water during retrieval. The balancing problem includes excessive rate of sinking in the case of slip sinkers placed on the fishing line and excessive weight of improper shape placed on the hook shank in the wrong place.
Typical of the prior art weighted hook devices is the “Mustad FIN-ACKY” (trademark) which includes a straight shank that curves to a reverse bend for embedment in the plastic fishing lure and includes a weight added to the top of the hook shank for causing the weighted fishing lure to sink to a desired depth in a waterbody. An early fishing line hook and sinker is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 83,681, patented Nov. 3, 1868. Other patents detailing various types of hooks with sinkers include U.S. Pat. No. 148,926, patented Mar. 24, 1874 to M. V. Cahon; U.S. Pat. No. 1,295,370, patented Feb. 25, 1919 to F. A. Porter; U.S. Pat. No. 167,687, dated Sep. 14, 1875, to Pitcher; U.S. Pat. No. 2,185,666, patented Jan. 2, 1940 to A. D. Hill, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,775,842, dated Jan. 1, 1957, to T. McCade; U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,366, patented Apr. 11, 1989 to J. T. Manno; U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,743, dated Jun. 22, 1993, to McClellan; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,494, dated May 11, 1999 to Herb Reed.
It has been found in the course of this invention that a low-profile, double-tapered weight can be applied to a curved or straight shank fishing hook to facilitate embedment of portions of the hook in a flexible plastic fishing lure, and fishing of the hook and lure at a desired depth in an easily controlled manner. Preferably, the low-profile, double-tapered weight is applied to the shank of the hook at a location between a bend in one end of the shank and the opposite end of the shank from the bend. It has further been found that the low profile, double-tapered weight located on the shank serves the purpose of improving the lure rigging and preventing, or at least greatly minimizing, snagging of the lure and the partially embedded hook on underwater obstacles such as moss, weeds, rocks, tree limbs and the like and facilitates a much smoother retrieval, whether the lure is being bounced off the bottom in heavy brush, rocks or the like, or retrieved on the surface or at an intermediate depth through the waterbody. Furthermore, placement of the streamlined, low-profile double-tapered weight on the hook shank near the end of the shank opposite the bend in the shank effects a surprisingly natural sinking of the hook-impaled lure, slightly head-down and with a slow descent, as well as a more natural “swimming action” of the lure due to minimum water resistance from the double-tapered, low profile weight.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide new and improved, fish hooks comprising a double-tapered weight attached to the shank for causing the hooks and lures in which the hooks are partially embedded, to sink at a desired rate to a desired retrieval depth, which depth is determined primarily by the weight size and speed of retrieval of the hooks and lures through a waterbody.
Another object of this invention is to provide a straight shank fish hook for embedment in the body portion of a flexible plastic fishing lure such as a flexible plastic worm, which hook includes a straight shank fitted with a low profile, double-tapered weight, an extended shank bend provided at one end of the straight shank to define an extended shank, a reverse bend provided in the extended shank to define a reverse bend neck, a hook top and a hook barb. At the opposite end of a straight shank above the weight there is provided an offset shank defined by a shank offset bend that defines the shank offset and a shank neck bend that terminates in a hook eye.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a curved shank fish hook for partial embedment in flexible plastic fishing lures such as flexible plastic worms, which fish hook includes a curved shank segment fitted with a low profile, double-tapered weight. A reverse bend terminates the curved shank to define a reverse bend neck, which terminates in a hook top and a hook barb. The opposite end of the curved shank, like the straight shank fish hook, terminates in a shank offset bend, a shank offset, a shank neck bend and a shank neck, which terminates in a hook eye.